Evil Inside
by echelontri
Summary: "Through me you go to the grief wracked halls; Through me you go to everlasting pain; Through me you go a pass among lost souls. Abandon all hope — Ye Who Enter Here" - - - Miles "Tails" Prower is a kind young fox, and the sidekick of the famous Sonic the Hedgehog. But what will happen after a series of unfortunate events pushes him over the edge?
1. Prologue

The ground shook and cracked. Deep inside the forest, something unusual was happening.

Suddenly, the soil was blown away, as if a volcano had erupted. A massive, dark, foreboding metal fortress rose up from the large hole it had just made. Then, as a long bridge extended outwards towards the edge of the pit, it came to a stop and sat there in complete silence that somehow made it even more unsettling.

What was truly strange, though, was its shape. It wasn't a classical blocky fortress with sharp, jagged edges as you'd expect, oh no - its shape was that of an egg.

.

.

**_italic _- thoughts**

**ALL CAPS - shouting / strong emphasis**

***asterisks* - sounds**

**WARNING: Contains character death and VERY graphic content.**

**This is my first fanfic, and first longer story in general. I'm sorry if you don't like it.**

**Since this is technically an M+ story, I've uploaded 5 chapters here, and the rest (containing the M+ content) on deviantArt: echelontri. deviantart(.com) /gallery/ (sorry for the weird link, leave out the spaces and brackets)**

**Inspired by Grounded at Creepypasta Wiki**


	2. The Threat Emerges

Sonic the Hedgehog was running through the hills near Station Square, as was his daily habit.

Upon reaching the highest point, he sat down in the tall grass and gazed at the landscape below him. *sigh* _It sure is beautiful up here,_ he thought. He saw the vast forest - an ocean of green, the hills around him, a massive dark oval thing on the horizon, the city in the distance... However, it didn't take him long to realise one of those didn't quite fit.

"What's that?" he asked himself, looking at the dark oval. He looked closer. "What IS that?" _Whatever it is, it can't be good... That shape brings back some bad memories... _He jumped to his feet and sped towards it.

In a matter of seconds, he arrived at a bridge, a tube leading to the massive structure. A large void surrounded the entire construction. The earth was scorched and there was smoke everywhere. "An... egg? That can only mean one thing!"

A strange sound interrupted his thoughts. An all to familiar voice came from above, "Hello, Sonic."

The hedgehog looked up and saw just who he was expecting. "You!", he shouted.

"Yes, it is I," the person, sitting in a hovering pod, replied, "Doctor Eggman!"

Sonic and his friends had beaten Eggman in a battle a few weeks before, just after he had gotten his hand on the last chaos emerald. The problem was he'd managed to escape with three of the gems.

"What're you up to this time, doc?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, nothing much... just world domination, you know how it is," replied Eggman.

"Hah! We've stopped you before; we'll do it again!"

"Tsk-tsk-tsk. Sonic, you're so arrogant. You've beaten me before, true, but this time, I will succeed! This time, I don't need any robotic army, I don't need any ancient creature, I don't need any overpowered space cannon, and, most importantly, I don't need to look for those stupid emeralds! The three I've got left over from our last encounter will provide more than enough energy. All I need is a few days - ten, to be accurate - and then all shall bow before me. In fact, my plan is so good, I'll tell you what it is, just so I can watch you fail miserably at trying to stop me!"

"Talk about arrogance," Sonic said. "So, let's hear your plan, if it really is as good as you say!"

"Well, you see," the doctor began, "in my little base, which I call The Egg of Egg-sodus-"

"Oh, brother... another egg pun," said the hedgehog.

*ahem* "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, in my base lies a bomb. It's an antimatter bomb, which means it is extremely powerful. After I produce the required amount of explosive, I'm going to place it onto that meadow you're standing on right now. Then, boom! Everything within a thousand-mile radius will be anihillated."

"What?!" Sonic yelled in disbelief, "You'd blow up everything just so you could build you stupid empire?"

"I think my past deeds speak for themselves," replied the doctor.

"Wait a minute... Where will you go?" asked Sonic.

"Well, by the time you're all getting pulverized, I'll have escaped to a small station in orbit so I can watch you all be destroyed. Anyway, after the detonation, I'm going to roll in with my terraforming crew and finally create my Eggman Empire. And since the bomb is in my unbreachable fortress, all I have to do is sit back and wait. Remember, hedgehog, you've got ten days. You'd better get to work. Goodbye for now!" With those words, Eggman flew back into the base.

"Hey! Get back here, you freak! I'm not done with you yet!", Sonic shouted, but to no avail. He even tried to jump over the gap and bust through the thick plating, but he just couldn't find a way in. Finally, he realised all his efforts were in vain. _Oh, man, I've got to warn the others! Eggman isn't fooling around!_ He ran back to his and Tails' house as fast as he could, probably setting a new land speed record along the way.


	3. Distrust

Tails was just having lunch in the kitchen when a blue blur shot through the door. "AHH! SONIC!", screamed the surprised fox as he was thrown off the chair. The hedgehog came to a screeching halt. "What are you doing?! You nearly killed me!", continued Tails, exasperated.

"Tails! We've got to do something! Eggman is planning to blow up Station Square!", Sonic told him.

"Huh? But we beat him just a few weeks ago!", replied Tails, slowly recovering his balance as he got up from the floor.

"I just happened to spot his base from a hill. When I got there, he saw and told me his entire plan!"

"That sound awfully stupid of him. Are you sure this isn't a trap?", Tails asked.

"Maybe, but listen to this..." Sonic proceeded by explaining Eggman's entire scheme to the fox, who was quite surprised.

"An... antimatter bomb? That's terrible! He could blow up the entire contintent with ease!"

"Yeah. And the problem is that base of his isn't easy to enter. I'm going to gather the others. In the meantime, you make some breaching charges."

"Okay. Hurry up, Sonic!" The hedgehog ran off to find Knuckles, Rouge and Shadow, and Tails went into his large basement workshop to start making the explosives.

.

.

A couple of hours passed and Tails was almost finished with his work when he heard the front door open. It was Sonic who had returned with the aforementioned trio to come up with a plan of attack. It sounded like they were in the middle of a heated discussion. The fox went up the stairs. The voices were now coming from the living room. The door was ajar. As he aproached, he began making out words.

"...there. But what's all this about Tails?" The voice was clearly Sonic's.

_Huh, they're talking about me; it sounds like Sonic isn't very pleased,_ Tails thought as he made his way towards the room. He decided it might be better to eavesdrop on the conversation. After all, he did want to hear what they thought about him. That might not have been the best idea.

"Something bothering you?" The second voice was a bit deeper and raspier - it was Shadow's.

Sonic answered. "Yeah! You said 'Just make sure that fox kid stays out of this.' It sounded like you didn't want him on this mission."

"And that's exactly what I meant," replied Shadow.

Tails was very surprised. _Shadow doesn't want me coming along? Why?_

As if he read his mind, Sonic, visibly irritated, simply asked, "Why?"

"Well, for one, he's just a kid. He doesn't have the necessary experience nor skills for this type of task," Shadow explained.

"What are you talking about? He's helped out dozens of times! He probably has more experience than you do! There really is no reason not to bring him with us," Sonic told him.

Knuckles, sitting on a couch, thought, _Oh, this is gonna be good._

"Be serious, Sonic. Every time he 'helped' you out, you took him along! You were the one helping him. If he were alone, he couldn't do anyhing. Just remember that one time on the Eclipse Cannon: as soon as you weren't babysitting him, he screwed up! He pretty much told Eggman the emerald was fake! I'm not about to risk everything just so some kid could feel good about himself. Maybe you could bring him in once we've cleared the area, just so he could deactivate the bomb." Shadow was being very stubborn and Sonic didn't like him talking about Tails like that.

The fox was still listening. _He's right, _he thought, _I mess up everything! They're better off without me. I'm so stupid! I thought I could actually be useful. I'll have to face the truth sooner or later: I'm just not meant to be a big hero like Sonic is._

Sonic was getting very angry. "This is stupid! Everybody makes mistakes! If I had to pick one of us not to go, I'd pick you! You're nothing but a depressed, obnoxious prick! You couldn't even save Maria!" He knew very well he'd crossed the line, but he didn't care.

"What... did you... say?" Shadow was barely restraining himself. "You blue-"

Knuckles and Rouge had been keeping quiet the whole time. While the echidna found it amusing to see the hotshots battle it out, Rouge decided it was high time she intervened. She interrupted the fight, "Boys, boys! We're here to stop Eggman, not to fight among ourselves! You two should chill out. If I were you, I'd bring the kid along; it couldn't hurt. Now let's sit down and start making our plan."

Sonic and Shadow exchanged ice cold stares. "Fine," Shadow began, "bring the kid along. But I'm warning you, hedgehog... If he should mess up, well... don't say I didn't warn you." They all sat down.

Tails, still standing near the door, was devastated. *sigh* _Well, I guess I should get back to work._ He slowly made his way down into the basement.

.

.

After a few hours, Tails yet again heard the front door close. The guests had left. Sonic came down the stairs. Some items vaguely resembling digital cloks were randomly spread over the workbench. He wanted to tell Tails about how they were going to attack Eggman.

"Hiya, buddy! What'cha doing?" Sonic said in a cheerful tone, but Tails could clearly sense the unease in his voice.

"Nothing," he replied, not taking his eyes off the wrench he'd been fumbling around with for some time.

"Uh... So, are the charges ready?" Sonic asked.

"Yup," the fox said.

"Well... okay... You know, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow and I have come up with a plan. You'll be a recon," continued Sonic, "You'll use the Tornado to scout the area around Eggman's base and provide aerial cover. Oh, and you'll be the one disabling the bomb! Great, huh?"

"Yaay," Tails said quietly and seriously.

Sonic didn't know what else to say. _What's going on? I've never seen him like this before!_ he thought. A few seconds of awkward silence passed. Sonic tried to start a conversation... "So... yeah... uhh... How've you been lately?"

"Fine," replied the fox who seemed more depressed than ever.

...but he decided it might be better to just leave Tails alone; he could tell him everything he needed to know later. _Wow! He's really upset about something, but what could it be?_ Sonic thought as he ran upstairs._ Luckily he didn't hear what Shadow had to say about him._ If only he knew just how wrong he was.


	4. The First Incident

The hedgehog quickly became bored out of his mind. With nothing to do, he decided to run around the house. When that became boring (pretty quickly, by the way) he tried watching TV, but there just wasn't anything good on. _Uggggghhhhh! It's so BORING around here,_ he thought as he turned off the television. Naturally, he was pleasantly surprised when he heard the doorbell ring.

He opened the door to find Vanilla and Cream had apparently decided to come around. "Hello, Sonic! We thought we could come for a visit... If you don't mind," said Vanilla.

"Hi!" he said, "I wasn't expecting you two to show up! Come on in!" And so they did.

The moment they set foot in the house, Cream asked, "Sonic, where's Tails?"

"Well, he's down in the basement, in his workshop, but I-" He stopped mid sentence. _He does seem to like Cream. It might do him some good to see her._

"But you what, Sonic?" Ceam interrupted his thoughts.

The hedgehog replied, "Nothing, nothing. Go right ahead."

Cream merrily jumped down the stairs as the other two went into the living room. "Have a seat, Vanilla," said the hedgehog when they arrived in the nicely decorated room.

"Why thank you, Sonic," she said and sat down on the couch.

"I'll grab us something to eat. I'll be right back," Sonic said - and he was; in the blink of an eye he returned with a plate full of cookies, set it down on the coffe table, and sat down in an armchair opposite Vanilla.

"So, what brings you around?" he asked and reached for a cookie.

"Well, Cream and I went out into the forest for a picnic. When we were going back, we passed your house and Cream insisted we stopped for a visit," Vanilla explained. "I think she wanted to drop by because of Tails. She does seem to like him better than the other boys."

"I guess she does," replied Sonic. By then, he'd become sure that Cream's visit could only do the fox good.

.

.

Tails was still sitting at his desk, thinking about the events that had happened that day. He was both sad and angry. _How could Shadow say all those things about me? I've helped out countless times, and now he gets to boss me around! It's not fair! It's just NOT FAIR!_ _But, I guess he's right. _*sigh*

The session of self-pity, which had been going on for a good hour, was interrupted by a gentle voice coming from behind him, "Hi, Tails!"

The fox immediately recognised the voice and spun around on his chair, surprised. "Cream?!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Mother and I went to the forest. When we were returning home, we went by your house and I managed to persuade Mother that we stopped here for a bit," Cream explained.

"Well, it's nice that you paid us a visit, but this really isn't the best time." He sighed again.

Only now did the young rabbit realise something was wrong with Tails. He wasn't his cheery usual self. It was quite obvious he was feeling down. "Tails... Is something wrong?" she asked softly.

"No, Cream, everything is just splendid. Now could you please leave me alone?" The tone of Tails' voice made it clear this wasn't a request.

It was quite shocking when the otherwise obedient Cream replied with a determined 'no'. "Tell me what's bothering you," she continued.

Though Tails wasn't expecting such a reaction, he remained steadfast. "Seriously, Cream, go away. I really need some time alone. Today hasn't exactly been the best day of my life."

Cream stood her ground as well. "No, Tails, I won't. Tell me what's wrong; it'll make you feel better."

"If you want to make me feel better, GO AWAY!" He was beggining to raise his voice.

"NO! Tell me!" So was Cream; underneath this unusually stubborn exterior she was worried about Tails - she wasn't about to leave him like he was.

"GO! GET OUT OF HERE!" He was pretty much yelling by now.

"NO!"

"GO!"

Upstairs, Sonic and Vanilla were wondering what all the racket was about. The mother rabbit was concerned. "Don't worry, Vanilla, they're just excited to see each other," the hedgehog said.

The reality was very different. Neither Tails nor Cream was very happy. The argument had been at a stalemate ever since the beginning. Tails tried to calm himself down. In a silent, ice-cold voice he said: "Go. Away."

Cream had enough of Tails' stubborness. In her high-pitched voice, she yelled, "NO! YOU WILL TELL ME!"

Tails had it with her. He wanted her to go away, to leave him alone, but she wouldn't. He had to act, and he did. He jumped out of his chair, stood before Cream for a second, and finally slapped her as hard as he could; she stumbled to the ground, struggling to regain her ballance. A long silence ensued. The fox just stood there and so did the rabbit, but very quickly tears stared to run down her face. She began to cry, to scream. Tails didn't have time to say anything as Cream had already made for the stairs. The shocked fox sat back down into the chair, his brain still trying to process what had just happened.

Soon after, a tall figure, followed by a smaller one, slowly stepped down into the basement. It was Vanilla, followed by her daughter. *ahem* "Mister Miles Tails Prower," she began, tapping her foot against the ground, "have you or have you not just hurt my daugter?"

Tails was, for the first time in his life, scared of Vanilla. She'd changed from a kind, tolerant mother to an angry and strict - but mostly angry - lady who does not know mercy.

"Uh... well... umm... y-y-yeah?" Tails began, very, very carefully. "B-but Vanilla-"

"No buts! And it's Mrs Rabbit to you!" said the angry mother. "How dare you lay a hand on my daughter?! She's told me about everything that happened! She only wanted to help, and this is how you repay her?! You should be ashamed, young man!"

The fox didn't know what to say. He was guilty, he'd slapped Cream and there was nothing he could do about it now. "I... I'm sorry! I'm so SORRY! I don't know what came over me! I just-I was just sitting there, a-and I-I... I'm sorry, Vanilla!" He was almost crying.

The mother rabbit saw that he was truly sorry for what he'd done and her heart thawed. "There, there, it's alright. It could've happened to anybody. Sometimes you just have a bad day. What's important is to learn from your mistakes. I forgive you, and so does Cream, isn't that so?" She looked at her daughter.

"I forgive you, Tails," Cream told him. "And I'm sorry that I was so stubborn."

"I'm sorry too, Cream. I didn't mean to do it," replied Tails.

"Just don't do it again," Vanilla said in a commanding manner. "Anyway, I think it's time the two of us went." They all went upstairs and said goodbye.

After Cream and Vanilla left, Sonic approached Tails. "Hey... What's all this with Cream? Did you really... slap her?" He seemed unnerved.

"I don't want to talk about it. It happened, alright? We've sorted it out," said the fox, still confused by what he'd done.

"Well... You know what they say - all's well that ends well, right?" Sonic said, trying to be as cheerful as possible under the circumstances. "Anyway, I've still got to tell you the plan right? So, here it is..." After half an hour, the hedgehog had explained everything and both of them went to bed.


	5. Complications

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining bright, the birds were chripping, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The entire gang was at a small runway just outside the city where Tails kept the Tornado. Since he was the recon, he was going to go first and scout Eggman's base and the area around it from a distance while the others waited for him to return. He and Sonic were in the hangar, doing a last-minute check if the plane was working properly. The other three - Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles - were about a hundred yards away, leaning on the fence and conversing about the assignement.

"...cool with me." Rouge was talking. "But it's a real bummer there isn't any stealthy approach. I'd love to crawl through a cave and strike Eggman from below."

Shadow spoke, "So there really isn't any silent way in? Damn. Are you sure?"

"Don't ask me," she replied. "I spent yesterday getting ready. I asked the Chaotix to look into it. They said there is ab-so-lu-tley no way in form below."

"We could try at night," suggested Knuckles.

"No, we're already here. I say we give it a shot - screw the silent approach!" Rouge told him.

"What worries me more is that kid," Shadow began.

"Who, Tails?" asked Knuckles.

"Yeah. I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," the hedgehog continued.

"Oh, come on, Shadow!" Rouge said. "I don't know why you're suddenly so worried. He's only flying recon and providing some support; it's not like he can doom the entire operation."

"But still..." He looked at the hangar, his eyes glimmering with worry.

.

.

"Okay, Tails, we've checked and double-checked everything. You're good to go." Sonic decided he'd do a quick summary of the plan one last time. "Remember, scout the area for anything unusual - aside form the giant black egg sticking out of the middle of the forest, of course. Stay at a distance - you can't let Eggman spot you. Once you're done, return here and we'll head for the base. We're going to use those charges to blow a hole in the hull. Shadow and I are going to distract the turrets while Rouge and Knuckles go in to disable the security system. Finally, you're going to come in and defuse the bomb."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got it," replied Tails as he went to sit in the plane. _Every idiot could figure out all you have to do is yank out the gems._

_He STILL seems worried... Maybe I should say something..._ "Hey, Tails, is there something you want to... talk about?" Sonic asked.

"What? No! Where'd you get that idea from?!" The fox looked pretty upset about Sonic asking him this. He started scratching the back of his hand nervously.

"Okay, okay! Geez! I was only asking..." The hedgehog was surprised at Tails' reaction. "Well, good luck."

Tails fired up the engine and took off without even saying 'bye'.

.

.

He barely got up into the air and already he could see the large oval monstrosity. He started thinking about the events of the past two days. He could barely believe so much had taken place in such a short time. _Great. I'm a recon. I'm going to fly around Eggman's base and report back. Whopee. It's not like they need me. /sarcasm I'm sure I'l be able to provide lots and lots of useful information just by flying past that thing._ _sarcasm They only gave me this task so I could feel good about myself. Ugh! This is stupid! I'm perfectly capable of helping the team, but they pretty much kicked me out!_

He'd been flying for several minutes. He got so immersed in his thoughts he didn't watch where his bearing. Suddenly, a voice came over the radio: "Tails!" It was Shadow. There was no response - the fox didn't even notice him, even though he was wearing a headset. "TAILS!" Shadow yelled into the microphone.

Tails flinched. "Wha-huh? Who... Shadow, is that you?"

"YES, IT'S ME! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING?" the hedgehog shouted.

"What..." Tails looked around. He was shocked by what he saw. Eggman's base was but half a mile away. "Oh no!" He was too close - the doctor could spot him any second.

Meanwhile, inside the fortress, a small red light started beeping on the huge control pannel in front of Eggman's chair. "What's this? It seems we have an intruder!" He brought the camera feeds up on his display. On one of them, a small biplane with a yellow fox sitting inside it was clearly visible. "It seems Tails has decided to pay us a visit. Why don't we send him a... welcome present." He pressed one of the numerous buttons on the pannel. A hatch on the outside of the base opened and several small projectiles shot out towards the plane.

Tails did a U-turn, but it was too late. He saw the missiles going straight for him. "Shadow, Eggman's spotted me! He's fired rockets at me!"

"Evade them and get out of there already!" replied Shadow.

"I can't shake them! I think they're homing! One's coming from the lef-" A loud bang could be heard through the speakers at the airfield.

"TAILS!" Shadow yelled, but it was too late.

Inside the base, Eggman was gloating. "Hahaha! A direct hit! That sucker's done for." Half of the plane was missing and it was spinning violently towards the ground. The flight ended with an explosion and some smoldering bent metal in a crater.

Sonic, who'd been listening in horror, decided it was time to take action. _Tails might still be alive... He MUST be alive!_ "Come on, Shad!" They both ran off to the base while Knuckles and Rouge desperately tried to keep up.

.

.

The crash site was a horrible sight. It was clear no-one could have survived. Sonic fell to his knees, tears starting to race down his cheeks. Much to his surprise, he heard a familiar voice above him, in the treetops, "Sonic! Get me down from here!"

The hedgehog looked up, confused. "Wha... Tails?!" He saw the fox dangling high above, his parachute tangled in the branches and leaves.

"You okay?" asked Shadow.

"Yeah! I managed to eject, but I got stuck up here!" Sonic ran up the tree trunk; in a moment's notice, the fox was standing firmly on the ground.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" Sonic said, still crying, but the tears were now of joy.

Shadow, seeing that Tails was alright, immediatley switched back to his usual attitude, and he was very, very angry. "You IDIOT! You INCOMPETENT IMBECILE! Do you realise what you've done?!"

Tails was caugh completely off guard. "I-I... uhh... I-"

"You've single-handedly ruined the mission! The world's at stake, kid! Get your shit together already!" Shadow was about to explode with insults.

Sonic jumped in, "Woah, Shadow, calm down! We still have plenty of time! And-" A silent buzzing sound came from the distance, and slowly got stronger. "What's that?"

A squadron of Eggman's robots appeared in the sky. They stopped for a brief moment to evaluate the sittuation. Suddenly, they went into a dive towards the trio, releasing a myriad of cluster bombs. "Shadow, get Tails out of here! I'll stall those rustbuckets!"

"You sure?" asked the black hedgehog, looking at Tails with the corner of his eye.

"Just GO!" Sonic yet again ran up a tree and propelled himself into the group of tin cans while Shadow grabbed Tails and dragged him away. A couple of robots fell down immediately, but the bombs were still falling. Even Sonic couldn't avoid them all, and one of them hit him. It hit hard; the hedgehog was blown to the scorched earth below. _Damn! There's too many! I've got to get out of here!_ He jumped back to his feet, burnt and bruised, and narrowly avoided the next barrage.

Shadow stopped after about a mile. "Right, this is as far as I'll take you."

"But... This is in the middle of the forest!" Tails said.

Shadow had calmed down, but he still found talking to the fox unbearable. "I don't have time for your little problems; you've caused enough for the rest of us today. I've taken you further than you deserve." He was gone in the blink of an eye.

*sigh* _How will I ever find my way home? I guess I could fly..._ With those thoughts, Tails started spinning his, yes, tails, and slowly rose off the ground, disheartened and sad.

.

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**ch.5 - 13 + epilogue - deviantArt: echelontri. deviantart(.com) /gallery/ (delete spaces and brackets)  
**


End file.
